WELSH fans last night told of their nightmare at the hands of Italian football thugs.

WELSH fans last night told of their nightmare at the hands of Italian football thugs.

They were spat on and pelted with urine-filled bottles as their side went down to a 4-0 defeat at Milan's San Siro stadium.

Up to 10,000 Welsh fans were housed on a lower tier - beneath thousands of Italian supporters.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) had sought assurances home fans would be prevented from pelting the massed Welsh supporters with missiles.

But television pictures clearly showed fans appealing to police to prevent the onslaught from above.

The FAW complained to Italian and Uefa officials and is considering taking formal action.

Welsh fan Barry Harris, from Llandudno, said: "It was disgusting what the Italians were doing to us.

"All the Welsh fans were in the same section of ground. Those who were under the upper tier were all right but those who were in front of them were being spat on from well before the kick off.

"Then bottles full of urine and empty drinks cans were thrown down. It was outrageous because the police did nothing about it at all."

His friend Dafydd Parry, from Holyhead, added: "The police were fully aware what was going on but when people complained they just shrugged their shoulders as if to say 'what do you want us to do?'

"The Italians should have to play their next match behind closed doors at the very least."

FAW spokesman Ceri Stennett said officials had visited Milan to finalise arrangements soon after the venue for the match was announced.

He said: "It is well known that fans in the upper

tiers of the San Siro stadium throw things onto the lower levels and the FAW requested that the front three rows of the upper tier would remain sterile and policed properly by Carabinieri.

"We were given to understand that would happen but it didn't.

"The FAW are not very happy about the situation and officials made their feelings known in Milan to the Italian authorities and the official UEFA observer at the match."

He added FAW officials would consider making an official complaint during the next few days.

There were heated scenes after the match when Welsh fans were kept behind in the stadium for nearly 45 minutes.

Mr Harris added: "The fans just wanted to get out and while the police usually keep visiting fans in the stadium until most of the crowd have gone three quarters of an hour was just too much. It was well after midnight before we could even think of finding our way back into the city."

Before the match eight Welsh fans were arrested following a reported brawl in Milan city centre. The seven men and one woman, all from South Wales, appeared before a magistrate on Saturday. The case was adjourned until today and all eight were kept in custody.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said they were being offered consular assistance.